Racking up km on my used A3: Sell it or get beater car to share usage?

An ageing high-mileage diesel German has me fearing about a huge depreciation in the future.

BHPian IanNazareth recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Greetings everyone!

I've been stuck in a dilemma over the last few weeks and have listed my car on sale and off sale multiple times.

Currently, I own a 2017 Registered Audi A3 that I bought preowned in 2021 - 2 years ago. Its odo is now at 61,000 km and was 35,000 km when I bought it. Not been to the garage at all over 2 years apart from routine oil changes and replacing a headlight, more about this could be found on the ownership thread that keeps updated.

Situation:

My factory is in Kolhapur and I reside in Mumbai. Earlier I used to make a week-long trip once a month by car and back to sort out all matters. This allowed me a nice drive as well which I thoroughly enjoyed. Off late I have been making the trip by overnight bus and have kept my 12-year-old Spark at the factory to use while I'm there. Mostly as the A3 is racking up kms pretty quickly. 1,000 km+ two-way trip

Hence, the Audi isn't being used much apart from the Weekly Sunday morning drives 100 or so kms around the Mumbai coast.

Question:

Fearing a huge depreciation dip in value being:

• An ageing diesel car.
• High mileage German.
• Maintenance-related nightmares in the future.

I have a good opportunity to sell the car right now while it's in pristine condition and move on to something that will be:

• Fun to drive.
• Won't take a massive hit in depreciation doing 20k kms a year.
• Budget of max 30L

Twist: I have also considered adding a pre-owned under 10L car to the garage and retiring the A3 for more weekends or Important business occasions.

Conversely, I have test driven the updated Tata Safari last week and I truly enjoyed trampling over potholes that I so feared in the Audi, felt bloody great.

Forgive me for I seem as confused as this thread does.

What would you guys do? I plan on adding a Sports car to the garage in 2-3 years' time for the Sunday morning duties, so I need preferably something that I can retain for all work and travel, hence the Safari, just unsure about it being a diesel long term and living in Mumbai with the impending 10y ban coming to us too.

Thanks for your reading!

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Don't worry about racking up the km. In Europe & elsewhere, this engine & gearbox do well over 200,000 - 250,000 km. You've bought an Audi. USE IT. Especially since you:

Retain your existing car, keep it in top shape and enjoy it. Will be way cheaper than buying a new Safari / any other car.

Option 2: Alternate between the Audi & overnight bus. Many times, when in doubt, a 50:50 approach works too. Let's say I'm trying to lose weight, but am craving a pizza and it's not my cheat day. I'll eat half a pizza. Let's say I'm feeling a bit off, but it's my workout day. I'll work out 50%. A workout for 45 minutes is still better than no workout at all.

Here's what BHPian Rajeevraj had to say on the matter:

In today's day and age, where only SUVs rule the roost, sedans themselves are a rare commodity. The A3 is a lovely compact, high-quality car and hence I don't think you should sell it. Since it is a diesel, has the more reliable DSG gearbox too. In addition only 6 years old.

Also, after driving the A3 for a long, I don't think any of the current crops will satisfy you.

Here's what BHPian Ashwintona675 had to say on the matter:

Hey, I have a preowned A3 as well 2.5 years old. I bought it in 2021 at 50,000km odo reading. Now it is at 80,000km. I have the timing kit replacement incoming next service which is quite a bit expensive. I was in the same boat as you a few months back, thinking of upgrading with a budget of 30L (preowned luxury sedans only).

But the problem now is, the used car market is at an all-time high, im not even getting a 2019 model 320d for 30L, let alone a new shape (2020+). So I decided to wait for 2 more years, my fingers are crossed the used car market cools down and I get a G20 BMW in the 30L price range. A3 is a very underrated car. Absolutely can be used as a beater, with insane torque and a sweet gearbox. Has the snob value as well. So I would suggest retaining the A3 for a couple of more years, diesel Audis are still in demand and you will definitely get a good bargain and won't regret keeping the car either. Cheers mate.

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